Pale as Milk
by TheatricalScribbler
Summary: Your name is Eridan Ampora and you are 8 sweeps old. Your moirail and best friend, Feferi Peixes, has been feeling a little green around the gills lately, so you decided to visit her.


Your name is Eridan Ampora and you are 8 sweeps old. Your moirail and best friend, Feferi Peixes, has been feeling a little green around the gills lately, so you decided to visit her.

You went straight to Fef's room when you got to her hive. By now, you knew her hive as well as you knew your own. The moment you entered her room you were surrounded by her colorful fauna. You hissed in annoyance at the cuttlefish as you shooed them away.

"Fef?"

Feferi turned around, looking surprised by your arrival. Right, you hadn't told her that you were coming. Her cheeks were tinged pink, but not her usual lively flush. Her eyes looked dull and her earfins were drooping slightly. She didn't look very healthy, but she was still cradling a cuttlefish in her arms.

"I was just feeding them," she said, giving you a tired smile as she released the cuttlefish. You looked at her for a moment before moving closer and taking her hand.

"Come on, Fef. You're comin' back to my hive with me."

She made a sound as if to protest, but you cut her off.

"Feferi Peixes, as your moirail I'm makin' you come above water so I can keep an eye on you an' help you get better. You look glubbin' awful," you said, ignoring the pouty face she was giving you.

"Whale, I guess if you insist," she said eventually, releasing a half-hearted giggle at her own pun. She gave a little wave to her pets as you lead her out of her room. Thankfully, your hive was pretty nearby, and it was a fast swim.

You carefully helped her out of the water and onto the rocks beneath your hive. She looked even worse once she was out of her element. Her hair flattened as she left the water and she wrung it and her skirts out quickly before taking your hand once more and letting you lead her up to your room. She stood against the wall as you carefully arranged some pillows, clothes, and scraps of cloth into a comfortable pile. You also might have stuck a shitty wand or two in there for structure.

Feferi curled up on the pile without a word, shivering a bit and snuggling into the cloth. You bent down to wrap your own cape around her as an afterthought.

She turned to look up at you for a moment before reaching up and yanking you down beside her. You yelped, surprised that she still had that much strength, despite being so obviously run down. "You could probably use a break, too," she muttered before nuzzling her face back into the rich purple of your cape.

Her breath quickly became smoother as she slipped into a deep sleep. You gazed at her serene face, smiling. You almost felt bad, knowing that a lot of the tiredness she'd had lately had probably been your fault. You were a bit high-maintenance as a moirail sometimes.

You tucked a lock of her drying hair behind her ear and she smiled in her sleep. It almost hurt seeing her like this, so happy in their pale relationship. You had tried to be happy, too, and you were. But you still wished that the two of you could be more. You couldn't quite remember when you'd started feeling more red than pale, but the feelings had swelled since then. Now you could barely look at her without a flushed throb in your chest.

And she had no idea. She was the greatest moirail anyone could have. She was always willing to sit down with you, to listen to you, to glub about feelings. She was always there to give you her advice. She would calm you down whenever you were feeling particularly dramatic about the landdwellers. She helped you so much. In comparison, you must have seemed so cold hearted.

You wished you could be satisfied with your moirailegiance. You really did. But she was just so pretty and sweet and _perfect_. You weren't sure how long this flushcrush had been there, but you were sure it wasn't going away anytime soon. So you kept it hidden. After all, you were nothing if not a good actor.

So you didn't tell her. Not yet at least.

You were jarred out of your thoughts as Feferi muttered something and rolled over, latching on to your shirt and sighing. You wrapped your arms around her, telling yourself that you were acting just as any moirail should. You two were pale as milk. You kept repeating that as you put your face in her salty-smelling hair, humming softly.

You were happy like this, despite the twinge of pain you felt when you realized that she didn't know.

_Pale as milk…_

And you fell asleep, cradling your favorite person in the world in your arms.


End file.
